Their names are Entissar, Soraya and Nitha, and they come from Syria, Algeria and Sri Lanka. In their home countries, they had different lives: one was a dental technician, another was a housewife and the third an accountant. But all three shared a passion for cooking, which they brought with them to France when they arrived as refugees or migrants. Now, with the help of a French social enterprise, these women have managed to turn their passion into careers as professional chefs.

A group of 30 women like Entissar, Soraya and Nitha, half of them also refugees, have started careers in cooking with the help of "Meet My Mama". The start-up, which was founded in 2016 by three young business school graduates, Youssef Oudahman, Donia Amamra and Loubna Ksibi, aims to "identify and promote the culinary talents of mamas from the four corners of the world.”  

Unique talents

You don't need to be a mom to be a “mama”, you just need to be a woman and a (very good) cook.

"These women have a unique talent and know unique recipes that have been transmitted from generation to generation,” Loubna Ksibi, one of the three founders of Meet My Mama, told InfoMigrants. "We wanted to promote their skills, to help people to discover other cultures through gastronomy and to bring different people into contact. Cooking breaks down barriers and brings people together."

The start-up generally finds these "mamas" by word-of-mouth and referrals, often from NGOs or associations that help migrants such as France Terre d’Asile and La Ruche. Meet My Mama puts women in touch with companies that hire them to cook lunches, special buffets or cocktails. The cooks are paid after helping at each event.

"At first, we thought that this would provide an opportunity for these women to make some extra cash on the side, but we quickly realized that the money that they make from these catering events often represents their main household income,” says Ksibi. "Our idea is to help them to become autonomous and independent.”

Women’s empowerment

The founders of Meet My Mama say their aim is women’s empowerment, to give these women the tools they need to become independent and, in doing so, to give them both voice and confidence.

"There are many women who want to cook professionally but they don’t actually go for it because they lack confidence or don’t know how to go about it,” says Ksibi. “This is even more true because the culinary arts are a male-dominated field in France.”

Indeed, only 25% of professional cooks are women, according to a 2011 report by the French Observatory of Hotels and Restaurants (Observatoire de l’hôtellerie-restauration).

The integration of migrants and refugees into the professional sphere remains a major challenge in France and the rest of Europe. According to a report published in 2016 by the European think tank "Pour la solidarité", finding long-term employment is especially difficult for refugees. They face language barriers, don’t have access to good information about the labor market and often struggle to get their professional qualifications recognized in their new country of residence. The barriers for women are even greater because they face "negative stereotypes and discrimination.”

"The [gender] segregation of jobs impacts immigrant women, who mostly have access to jobs within the local service sector while men have a wider variety of employment opportunities,” the report says. “[Immigrant women] face a double discrimination.”

"Mama Academy"

To help women manage their new careers, Meet My Mama has established what they call the Mama Academy, which offers a classes on everything from French-language related to the kitchen to management classes, food safety, public speaking and workshops with Michelin-starred chefs. More and more people have shown interest in the program.

"There is a long waiting list,” says Ksidi, who says that the goal is to help women become "autonomous so that they can open up spaces for the next women.”

Ksidi says that there are no conditions to applying for the academy -- just being interested is enough.

 

If you are interested in becoming a "mama", contact the start-up through the Meet My Mama website or on their Facebook page.